This page: Two interesting old photos of a veteran motor-car, A504, before and after being extracted from a building.

A-504 - a 1902 Panhard et Levassor car.

Both of these photographs turned up together, and both feature the same veteran car - a Panhard et Levassor, registration A-504 and dating to 1902. The photographs were much later, taken early in the 1960's, and seem to show the car "as found", and then later in a much cleaner state. A look around online shows that this 1902 motor-car is still very much in active service, and regularly takes part in the London to Brighton Run.

Photo number 1 seems to show the car shortly after having been removed from an old garage or building. The hood is erected and, like the rest of the car's chassis and Double Phaeton coachwork, looks to be quite grubby, suggesting a lengthy rest in a dusty environment. The lamps are dull, the bodywork is quite dirty, and the hood looks to be in pretty poor condition also. The tyres are Spencer Moulton Cord brand. Clearly visible in this shot is the spare tyre mounted on the vehicle's offside, and the chain drive to the rear axle. Note how the rear wheels are of a different construction to those on the front axle.

(Please click the thumbnail to view full-size image.)

The second shot of A-504 shows the four cylinder Panhard et Levassor after a thorough cleaning-up session. The car's windscreen and hood are not evident in this photo. The chassis looks to have been cleaned up to a reasonable standard, albeit not concours, and the car's brightwork is looking a lot healthier than in the earlier view. A tax disc for January 1963 confirms the approximate date of both images. More recent shots of this car show a pair of lamps fitted to this car, whereas fifty or so years ago it made do with a single example. The body/chassis plate for Panhard et Levassor can just be made out on the scuttle, directly below where the screen surround would be.